Libra’s David Marcus on Crypto Support: ‘We’re Turning a Corner’

Facebook’s Libra project may be hoping that a rising tide lifts all boats.

Libra co-creator and board member David Marcus expressed his enthusiasm for the recent flurry of cryptocurrency support from large corporations such as PayPal. Writing on his Twitter account on Oct 25, Marcus said:

Exciting to see more mainstream financial services players getting on the crypto bandwagon. Many banks now pursuing #BTC and stablecoins support after this week’s announcement by @PayPal. We’re turning a corner.

— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) October 25, 2020

Facebook’s Libra project has appeared to have lost momentum after suffering a string of high-profile departures from partners including Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, Vodafone and Ebay, among others. On the Twitter thread, users asked for an update on the Libra launch.

PayPal recently announced that it will support on-platform cryptocurrency transactions, which fueled a rally in the bitcoin price. Marcus suggested that PayPal is inspiring banks to pursue bitcoin and stablecoin support.

Marcus has a history with PayPal, having joined the company when it acquired his startup, Zong. He served as PayPal president from 2013 to 2014, after which time he stepped down to lead Facebook’s messaging products.

Has Libra Turned A Corner?

Launched with great fanfare in 2018, Libra has found itself dogged by crisis after controversy, from a congressional inquiry in the United States to open regulatory hostility in Europe. It has also faced opposition from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who inferred that it was an attempted power grab by Facebook that could see it usurp the powers of a government.

Reactions to Marcus’ Tweet

The responses to Marcus varied from slightly skeptical to openly hostile. VR meetup organizer and self-described “bitcoin troll” Udi Wertheimer inferred that Facebook’s Novi digital wallet program — which Marcus also runs — should support bitcoin instead of Libra.